On Thursday night, the Chicago Blackhawks had a tough loss to the Seattle Kraken. They allowed a two-goal lead to slip away in regulation and came away with nothing.
They were allowed to let it go quickly, with the second half of a back-to-back against the Buffalo Sabres. This was Chicago’s first back-to-back of the season as they traveled upstate to New York to take on the team with the worst record in the Eastern Conference.
Advertisement
Buffalo, despite their spot in the standings, has a ton of talent. It was on full display in this game as they ran the Hawks out of town with a 9-3 demolition.
Tyler Bertuzzi, who was playing in his 100th game as a Blackhawk, scored twice, and Alex Vlasic scored the third goal for Chicago. Connor Bedard assisted on both of Bertuzzi’s goals, giving him 31 points on the season, which is tied with Macklin Celebrini for third in league scoring.
Bedard and Bertuzzi, and their linemate Ryan Greene (who had an assist as well) all played well in this bad loss. Outside of them, it was a mostly lousy game for Chicago, as indicated by the 9-3 final score in favor of Buffalo.
Arvid Soderblom was in the net for the Blackhawks, and he stayed in for all nine goals against. He has been a fantastic backup so far this season, but this wasn’t his night. With that said, most of Buffalo’s goals were not Soderblom’s total fault. The team did not play well in front of him.
Advertisement
Jeff Blashill chose to avoid pulling Soderblom, but Spencer Knight is now going to be completely fresh for the next game, which will take place on Sunday night.
Some nights just don’t go well in the NHL. Every team has five or six really bad games. This is one for the Blackhawks. Chicago lost every period 3-1, was outplayed in every area of the ice, and couldn’t keep the Sabres from answering every time they scored.
Watch Every Blackhawks Goal
Up Next For Chicago
This is the type of loss that you learn from, throw in the garbage, and move on quickly. The thing is, Chicago will be going from the bottom team in the East to the top team in the West. The Colorado Avalanche are going to be at the United Center for Sunday night hockey. This is, up to this point, the biggest test of the season for this young Blackhawks team coming off two straight regulation losses.
Image
Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.
Advertisement
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
